Alternatives to electromagnetism for communication? It seems, from my (weak) understanding of the standard model that the only field suitable for long range communication is the one we actually use, electromagnetism.  (Gravity waves could be used as well I suppose, but gravity is too weak to be practical use.)  
Questions:


*

*Is this correct? It seems so, as you need a boson (to be able to produce 'intense' signals) and all the others are either unstable or strongly interacting (e.g. gluon)

*Why is it like that? Is there some underlying fundamental reason that there are no other 'useful' bosons?

*Does 'beyond the standard model' physics provide any insight? Any potential alternatives? (Graviphoton?)
 A: I believe long-range communication using weak interaction ((anti)neutrinos) is also possible, at least, in principle (see my answer at Are Electromagnetic Waves The Only Means of Transmitting Information? ). I don't quite see why communication using fermions is not possible.
EDIT(05/24/2014): It looks like neutron beams can also be used for long-distance communications, at least if guiding structures are used (http://www.manep-nccr.ch/en/technological-challenges/neutrons.html )
A: Another field used for communication is the pressure - velocity field of material media. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_theory. For example, long range communication through solid and liquid media are exercised by elephants and whales respectively. 
A: Yes, this is correct. The reason for Photons being our only means of long-range communication lies in the fact that at very low energies (where we live today) the unbroken subgroup of the standard model is 
$$SU(3)_c \times U(1)_\mathrm{em}$$
The $SU(3)$ color part is not useful, as it is confining at low energies. The $U(1)$ electromagnetic part gives rise to a chargeless, massless boson that interacts with everyday matter, so it is perfect for that purpose.
You are correct in assuming that gravitons would in principle work as well, but their coupling to matter is just too weak for any practical applications. Same goes for Graviphotons.
Physics beyond the Standard Model always has to have the Standard Model as a low-energy limit. Therefore, even if new bosons arise, they either have to have tiny couplings (e.g. axions) or large masses (e.g. GUT gauge bosons) in order to explain why we have not seen them yet. If by now we have not had a chance to see the damn thing, how would we use it to communicate?
A: The electromagnetic communication channel is not unique. Thee is one more, namely, the inerton communication channel. Inertons are carries of the field of inertia and also they provide for a short-range action at the quantum mechanical interaction of particles. Inertons carry fragments of mass. See more in my paper below: V. Krasnoholovets and V. Fedorivsky, Transmission of wellness information signals using an inerton field channel, European Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 2, No. 6, pp. 1-8 (2020);
https://www.ej-physics.org/index.php/ejphysics/article/view/25/17
Also see my book: Structure of Space and the Submicroscopic Deterministic Concept of Physics
https://www.appleacademicpress.com/structure-of-space-and-the-submicroscopic-deterministic-concept-of-physics-/9781771885300
The concept can be realised during a year or so. The funds needed are not to large. The final product in the end of this preliminary project will be a system of a transmitter and receiver separated at hundreds of meter or a few kilometers.
